TERMS OF REFERENCE
Consultancy for developing Aware Hero app
I. Introduction
Oxfam is a world-wide development organisation that mobilizes the strength and voice of people against poverty, inequality and injustice. Oxfam’s vision is a just world without poverty: a world in which people can influence decisions that affect their lives, enjoy their rights, and assume their responsibilities as full citizens of a world in which all human beings are valued and treated equally. We are a confederation of 19 Oxfam organisations working together in more than 90 countries. Oxfam works with partner organisations and alongside vulnerable women and men to end injustices.
Vietnam faces one of the greatest risks from natural hazards and disaster of any country in the world. Root causes of this vulnerability are hard to change, but the risk to lives and livelihoods from climate-related disasters falls dramatically when citizens are aware and prepared when disaster strikes. Access to mobile devices and data networks in Vietnam are expanding rapidly. Now is the time to harness this data revolution and use it to tackle the negative impacts of flooding and related disasters in Vietnam, which in 2017 claimed 389 lives and caused USD $2.6 billion worth of damage across the country. Women often face a heavier risk from disasters as compared to men but are often less likely to have the opportunity to participate in disaster preparedness and response.
Oxfam in Vietnam (OiVN) has been exploring the idea of employing innovative technology to help poor and vulnerable people, especially those living in disaster-prone areas. For this reason, OiVN is now seeking a consultant individual/group/organisation to work with OiVN to develop a mobile app that is capable of issuing early disaster warning notifications, tentatively called Aware Hero.
II. Scope of work and required output
Aware Hero is intended to help citizens build their awareness and preparedness for natural hazards and disasters such as typhoons, flooding and street-level water inundation. This smartphone app will contribute to building greater resilience of individuals, households and communities across Vietnam to climate change and climate-related disasters. The app will provide the Vietnam Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) with a powerful tool to send and receive information to and from citizens and to better communicate with their provincial and local officers during emergencies.
The consultant is to:
- create, develop, test and host a prototype for an Android smartphone app called Aware Hero and an accompanying webpage for OiVN
- provide all necessary website & app hosting services for OiVN’s website & app once the development is complete. Hosting service shall be minimum 99,9% server uptime
- conduct several rounds of improvements by consulting small groups of stakeholders
- carry out field tests at 2 locations minimum to gather user feedback on a larger scale
- improve the app using feedback from field trips
The prototype version of the app, produced by the end of this contract, is to have the following functions:
- Hydro-meteorological (historical and forecast) data is input into the Aware Hero app, which processes the data and registers locations that are going to be affected by disasters
- The app can automatically send notifications to local app users to warn them about disasters coming to their community
- Local users can post real-time texts and images of their current situation onto the app, and can comment on each other’s post
- Disaster-struck areas can appear on Google Map
III. Schedule of consultancy services
Required outputs include:
- The prototype version of the app is assessed and accepted by Oxfam no later than December 30, 2019
- Field tests at 2 locations minimum are conducted within January 2019
- Improvements using feedback from field tests are completed and accepted by Oxfam no later than February 28, 2020
IV. Consultancy requirements
The ideal consultant is to have the following qualities:
- Proven track record in developing high-quality smartphone apps (5 years’ experience minimum)
- Willingness to improve the app incrementally with feedback from OiVN and end users
- Experience in working with international development organisations is an advantage
V. Submission of proposals
Interested companies/consultants are required to submit proposals and demo user interface by the end of November 11, 2019 via e-mail to [email protected] [1]. Kindly indicate the title of this ToR in the subject line when applying by email. Only shortlisted consultants will be contacted for interviews.
Application in English or Vietnamese should include the following:
- CV(s) or profiles of the company/consultants to carry out the tasks
- Description of how the prototype is intended to work, with a sketch of user interface
- Financial proposal for the services